A Western Circular

by Wilma Archer

Overview

For much of the 2010s, British musician Will Archer made dusky, candle-lit music under the somewhat misleading name Slime. His curious, unassuming grooves recalled the 1990s trip-hop/downtempo aesthetic more than anything else being produced at the time, but with slightly more abstract beats and odder arrangements. Since discontinuing the Slime moniker and going by Wilma Archer in 2017, he's issued a bubbling pop single with Amber Mark, released an album of lush, introspective hip-hop with Odd Future/The Jet Age of Tomorrow's Pyramid Vritra, and produced multiple tracks on the acclaimed 2019 debut albums by Sudan Archives and Niluefer Yanya. A Western Circular is his long-in-the-making first full-length as Wilma Archer, and it's far more organic and introspective than his previous work. Shining a greater spotlight on his skills as a composer and arranger, the album is a mixture of orchestral jazz with subtle electronic touches, and a few ventures into R&B and rap. "Scarecrow," previously issued as a single that provided a taster for Archer's drastic shift in direction, is a flowing mini-suite with a softly gliding rhythm, tasteful electric guitar lead, shimmering organ, and a slightly knotty web of horns. MF DOOM, sounding a bit weathered and unmasked, does his thing over the metronome-like tick and lightly ebullient, tossing-and-turning strings of "Last Sniff." More dramatic and stirring is the sinister tango of "Killing Crab," filled with sharp, heavy strings that boldly swoop and sway. Once again, he teams up with the always stunning Sudan Archives on "Cheater," an intriguing labyrinth of violins, electronic squiggles, and rousing horns. Future Islands crooner Samuel T. Herring pops up twice, first on the distraught lament "The Boon," then duetting with Laura Groves on the downtrodden but reassuring soft rock ballad "Decades." Even without lead vocals, song titles like "Cures & Wounds" and "Ugly Feelings (Again)" point to levels of deep personal expression previously unreached in Archer's music. Easily his richest, most complex music to date, A Western Circular is where Archer reaches the sound he's been striving towards. ~ Paul Simpson

Product Details

Release Date:	04/03/2020
Label:	Domino
UPC:	0887833011218

Tracks

1. Western Circular
2. Scarecrow
3. Last Sniff
4. Killing Crab
5. The Book
6. Cheater
7. Cures & Wounds
8. Decades
9. Ugly Feelings (Again)
10. Worse Off West

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Wilma Archer   Primary Artist
Sudan Archives   Vocals,Featured Artist,Viola
Ellis Dupuy   Drums
Theo Erskine   Sax (Tenor)
Cliona Ni Chiosain   Cello
Dom Pusey   Sax (Tenor),Sax (Soprano),Sax (Baritone)
MF Doom   Vocals,Featured Artist
Laura Groves   Vocals,Featured Artist
John Williamson   Double Bass
John Pope   Double Bass
Samuel T. Herring   Vocals,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Will Archer   Erhu,Bowls,Drums,Piano,Vocals,Percussion,Sax (Alto),Synthesizer,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Sudan Archives   Composer,Melody Arrangement
Ian Kittredge   Cover Art
MF Doom   Composer
Laura Groves   Composer,Melody Arrangement
Matthew Cooper   Design
Christian Wright   Mastering
Samuel T. Herring   Composer,Melody Arrangement
Will Archer   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Producer,Melody Arrangement